CNN An 8.8-magnitude earthquake has struck Japan

[Marokai Backbeat]

This isn't going to be a Chernobyl, as much as those who are anti-nuclear power wish it to be.

Yeah, we're sitting here crossing our fingers for it.

[Marokai Backbeat]

This isn't going to be a Chernobyl, as much as those who are anti-nuclear power wish it to be.

Yeah, we're sitting here crossing our fingers for it.

If you think that there will inevitably be another Chernobyl, why wouldn't you want it to happen sooner than later so that nuclear power will be stopped sooner as well, thereby limiting the amount of nuclear material that needs to be dealt with?

I doubt anyone actively wants it to happen for any reason. They just fear this is exactly the sort of thing that could happen. Extreme scenario right now? Yes. But the possibilities are extreme enough for that to matter.

[Marokai Backbeat]

This thread has become unreadable.

[Marokai Backbeat]

This thread has become unreadable.

Please, grace us with your presence more often so that the thread can once again be readable for all.

Here's the thing: No one in this thread knows a goddamn thing about what's going on. Not really. We can all take the news and we can speculate, but let's be serious here, you actually think this thread is informative? It's essentially been taken over entirely by J.J., Jmfcst, and Beet, the last two being completely out of their minds panicking over the situation. Beet is essentially playing pretend Japanese Prime Minister here. There's no point to that.

Seriously, I'm the cocky pretentious one? Beet just laid out a four-point plan as if he could influence the Japanese government.

This thread isn't informative anymore. At best it's disaster porn and at worst it's a collection of panicked disaster-hypochondriacs. I keep clicking on it only because it's basically the only discussion of it on this site but it's basically all "Japan is doomed! Japan is doomed!" It's a nightmare (an indefensible one, though you can continue trying) and I'm tired of reading it. (But if I want to see anything about this site's take on it, I have to.)

[Marokai Backbeat]

What kind of comments would you like to see? Serious question.

I don't honestly know. I don't really know if there's much more to say but to sit, hope, and wait to see what happens. But I really think you're working yourself up far more than you need to. Whatever this discussion should be, I don't think shouting doomsday is productive.

(I guess if anything comes to mind about what to talk about taking away from this disaster is Japan's infrastructure, specifically in relation to ours. The merits and potential dangers of nuclear energy, and should we continue using it? The need for tsunami warning and protecting systems to be in place and continue to be fully funded. I don't know if here is the perfect avenue for those discussions, but at a certain point, this thread is just wallowing in misery.)